Realizing
that Vietnam is a promising market, foreign enterprises want to do business in
Vietnam through the form of franchising. Recently, many
consumer goods, fashion and cosmetics brands from Japan and Thailand are
promoting the franchise with Vietnamese partners and enterprises.

In the framework of the
program “Vietnam – Thailand Enterprises Interaction in The Field of
Franchising” which was held in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) recently, there were 40
Thailand enterprises operating in the food, beverage, restaurant, supermarket,
health care, cosmetic sectors joined to find partners in Vietnam.

According Mr Nupartpat
Sutthitham, Director of the MP Mart convenience store chain (Thailand),
currently in Thailand there are 3 MP Mart stores, in which the model is not the
same as Family Mart or Circle K. While Family Mart sells mainly food (80%), MP
Mart sells mainly fast moving
consumer goods, which are produced in Thailand (70%).

According to
representatives of MP Mart, the cost to open a store in Thailand with an
average area of 150 m2 is approximately 50,000 USD. Realizing the Vietnam market has
many opportunities, MP Mart wants to explore and this is the first time this
brand comes to Vietnam. The criteria for selection of investors, partners of MP
Mart are having financial resources to be able to scaling this model in large
numbers in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, according to
representatives of Kokekokko – a well-known chicken fast food brand in Thailand
with 5 stores, using Japanese spices to marinate chicken. Representatives of
this brand also did not hide their intention to find partners with business
understanding and financial resources to open stores in Vietnam.

Also in late November of
2016, there were 9 Japan enterprises with 14 fashion brands came to Vietnam to
find partners to open franchise stores or distribute products in the domestic
market.

According to Mr Akira
Kaise, representatives of I Am Company Limited, this fashion brand has been
presented in many markets around the world such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, Korea,
Taiwan, Spain, UK, Netherlands… and this is the first time he comes to Vietnam
to study the market.

Representative of I Am
Co., Ltd commented that young population, good economic development, increasing
people’s incomes… are factors to make Vietnam becoming a potential market for
fashion items. In addition to the market penetration, the Company is also
interested in outsourcing or investing in Vietnam to take advantage of low
labor costs and highly skilled labors.

At the Vietnam market,
Japanese businesses are often mentioned in the culinary field, meanwhile, the
fashion, cosmetics or beauty brands are not widely known by consumers. Thus,
recently, many Japanese cosmetic brands have decided to enter the market of
Vietnam and looking for official distributors.

In an activity operated
by the Esuhai Company of Vietnam recently in HCMC, there were nearly 10
cosmetic brands of Japan participated. Among them, the brand Kose is well known
by many consumers.

According to the
representative of Kose, this enterprise has been established since 1946, global
sales reached 2.1 billion USD a year and has been presented in 18 countries.
However, so far, this brand does not have official distribution channel in
Vietnam market. Therefore, along with the promotion of market presence and
product introduction, on this occasion, Kose desires to find agents and
official partner in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, according to
representatives of Nippon Menard Cosmetic Company, owner of the brand Menard,
the Company is fully confident to introduce their products to consumers in
Vietnam and wanted to find good partners to be able to access to more
consumers.

According to the
representatives of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) in HCMC,
Vietnam currently has more than 93 million populations, of which half are women
who want to become more beautiful as earnings are improving and willing to
spend the budget for beauty and body care. Therefore, this is a favorable time
and good opportunity for the Japanese cosmetics brand to penetrate the market
of Vietnam.

However, there is the
fact that the Japanese cosmetic and fashion products are priced relatively high
compared to the average income of local consumers. In addition, the Japanese
fashion is not common in Vietnam market. Therefore, this is seen as the first
step for the fashion and cosmetic brands of Japan to explore the market and
find partners.

ANT Consulting is here
to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory,
management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure
efficient business start-up operation. Our services are as following:

We strive to save your
cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local
legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and
carry you through as your business grows.
We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local
cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market
to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

We could be reached at
email: ant@antconsult.vn or
tel: +848 3520 2779 . To learn more about us, please visit
www.antconsult.vn